Astros insider: Takeaways from series at Yankees

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 23: Yordan Alvarez #44 of the Houston Astros celebrates his fifth inning two run home run against the New York Yankees with teammates Michael Brantley #23 and Yuli Gurriel #10 at Yankee Stadium on June 23, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

NEW YORK — After Sunday's 9-4 win concluded, the Astros' social media accounts began bragging about a "season series win" over the New York Yankees. The graphic told no lies. Houston swept a three-game series at Minute Maid Park and took one of four this weekend in Yankee Stadium.

"In this landscape of teams not trying to win and a few teams trying to win, I think we both had a good idea early on that we have to see how we match up," said Astros starter Justin Verlander.

Manager A.J. Hinch refused to place any more premium on this series than other regular season ones.

Asked Thursday if he would use a series like this to remember tendencies or matchups if these two teams met in October, Hinch said he would not. The Astros did not have George Springer or Carlos Correa. In April at Minute Maid Park, the Yankees did not have Didi Gregorius, Edwin Encarnación or Giancarlo Stanton.

Both teams can — and will — make trade deadline acquisitions. These teams could look completely different if and when an American League Championship Series is waged in October. Drawing any grand meaning from these four games would be silly.

Perhaps the Astros can take this "regular season series win" as a silver lining for a road trip where, in reality, there were few to be found. The Astros did not play well for three of their four games here. Before bombing J.A. Happ on Sunday, they held a lead for one of their previous 27 innings. And even that was given away by Ryan Pressly in a Saturday meltdown.

Yordan Álvarez appeared undaunted and undeterred by the bright lights of Yankee Stadium. He acknowledged Sunday through an interpreter how excited he was to play in a place he'd only seen before on television.

"We heard a lot of good things about him, but it's one thing to say it and it's another thing to watch him play and execute every swing with how good he is," José Altuve said. "He has a bright future and is going to be a big part of this team."

Álvarez's exploits are historic. He's the only player since 1920 to hit at least seven home runs and drive in 16 runs in his first 12 major league games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. His seven home runs are the most home runs in franchise history through a player's first seven games.

The rookie phenom homered in three of the four games played this weekend. All came against different styles. He hammered a high-velocity 97 mph four-seam fastball on Thursday.

Saturday — in the seventh inning of a game his team trailed by two — Álvarez worked a seven-pitch plate appearance and annihilated a hanging changeup. Sunday, he pulled a four-seam fastball that tailed down and in into the right-field seats.

"He's getting really good at hunting pitches and when he gets them he's doing damage," Hinch said. "That ball he hit out was off the plate and chasing him in a little bit. He just continues to stay balanced and hit the ball really hard. He's a really, really good hitter that understands his happy zones and where to get after them."

There were occasional pitfalls. He struck out looking against a 101.5 mph fastball to strand the bases loaded and end Friday's game. He did not seize advantage of a few other instances with runners in scoring position, either. But, at the same time, neither did anyone else on the team.

There was perhaps no greater regular-season stage for Álvarez to test his mettle. He did fine.

The Astros need George Springer back now

Duh and or hello.

Springer should be back on Tuesday, barring an unforeseen circumstance with his minor league rehab assignment. He will bring his larger-than-life presence and go atop the Astros batting order to alleviate one massive concern.

Since May 25, Astros leadoff hitters have slashed .167/.268/.324. In that span, only two major league teams — the Cardinals and Giants — received a lower OPS from the leadoff position in their batting order.

Take out Sunday's nine-run outburst and the Astros averaged just 4.7 runs per game while Springer was absent. On this road trip, where his void felt greater than ever, they scored three or fewer runs in four of seven games.

Alex Bregman is struggling

Through his last eight games. Bregman is just 4 for his last 31 and, it seems, popping everything into the air. His struggles warranted a change at leadoff hitter. Two games in the two-hole to end this series did little to help. He went 2-for-9 in the final two games, sending him into the off day with a bitter taste.

Chandler Rome joined the Houston Chronicle in 2018 to cover the Astros after spending one year in Tuscaloosa covering Alabama football — during which Nick Saban asked if he attended college. He did, at LSU, where he covered the Tigers baseball team for nearly four years. He covered most of the Astros' 2015 playoff run, too, as an intern for MLB.com